In the space of a few hours, an enormous spider has built a web across the sliding glass door. The spider’s got around an inch and a quarter legspan and is yellowish-dun with snazzy black tiger striping. There’s a black spot on the abdomen, with small white bits at each corner, that looks for all the world like a gaping mouth with little peg teeth.

It’s a very large web, and once it got dark, the spider’s cunning was immediately obvious–bugs are drawn to the light on the other side of the glass door and flop straight into the spider’s larder. I already watched it slowly and systematically annhilate a small lump of something. It has very large palps. The system broke down a little when a moth with a nearly two-inch wingspan arrived to beat at the glass–it rips right through the web without even noticing–but for the most part, it’s like a small, somewhat digusting nature show happening less than a foot from my nose.

I have no idea how I’m gonna go outside and water the plants tomorrow, mind you, but I suppose I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.